VREA project wants to create a basis for a new international joint Master level course capable of generating a new professional figure in charge of technological evolution and critical sensitivity towards the architectural heritage, its conservation and enhancement. It needs to advance a new generation of students on those cultural basis and technical knowledge for managing Digital Twins in the field of Cultural Heritage, directing the study course of architects and engineers.The design project wants to integrate knowledge and skills, organized by Thematic Panels, to interact with the world of digital production of artworks, cities, and architectural artifacts. The creation of databases, archives, 3D models, and in general the technical and scientific production, as well as artistic and cultural, is increasingly translated into languages and expressions that belong to the world of digital and creative industries. VREA consortium foresees 6 HEIs from Italy, Poland, Spain, Russia and Singapore, with high interest in developing a preliminary strategy of design for technical and sustainable course on the thematic of Digital Contents and Virtual Realities applied to Architecture and Cultural Heritage. The Action plan is structured on physical and virtual meetings, also considering mobility of project staff to HEIs facilities, to build a path of sharing knowledge and didactic mechanisms within 5 concept phases of Kick-off, Confrontation, Project, Third Mission and Results.VREA Project team is composed by academic staff of HEIs, including senior and junior researchers to act as technical staff, in collaboration with administrative staff from didactics and international relation offices. The experiences of HEIs in the regulations of different countries will be joint to build common methodologies of didactic and administrative accreditation for the new master course, developing multimedia guidelines to be shared also as EU reference for further experiences.

Recent conceptual and technological breakthroughs in biology have caused a revolution in the way biomedical research is approached. Tomorrow researchers have to master complementary technologies, be able to work in interdisciplinary teams and build international collaborative networks. This is especially true for complex diseases like cancer, a leading cause of mortality worldwide and an EU mission area for which an Erasmus Mundi Joint Master Degree is currently lacking.With this consideration in mind that we are proposing steps to solidify existing partnerships and build an Internal MAster Degree in Cancer Biology (MAD4Cancer) involving the University of Pavia (Italy), the University of Montpellier (France) and the Institute for Research in Immunology affiliated with the Université de Montréal (Canada). All three institutions are recognised for their excellence in science, outreaching capacity and ability to engage with private stakeholders.We plan to design a cutting-edge, competitive and international curriculum in cancer, inclusive of a mobility plan and a portfolio of soft skills, which are in high demand in today job market. Local start-ups, biotech companies and a network of hospitals are also available for traineeships and will be further pursued for scholarships to sustain long-term this program.To reach our goal, we built a team of highly motivated people, including academic and administrative personnel, with complementary expertise in research, teaching, dissemination and management who have already engaged in productive exchange. We plan two in person meetings to solidify our proposal and a scientific workshop to foster scientific collaborations. A steering committee with decision power will be established to smoothly organise activities through online meetings. By the end of the 15-month period of this grant, we expect to have established drafts of Partnership and Learning Agreements and have started the accreditation process of the Master Degree

<< Background >>Entrepreneurial University Strategies (EUS) are key elements for the future development of Higher Education Institutions (HEI), as they help to create innovative solutions for the challenges of the 21st century. However, what framework does an HEI have to deliver to support the launch of “born global” startups in Europe? In alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as digitalization, reducing inequality (SDG 10), promoting gender equality (SDG 5), innovation (SDG 9) and building partnerships for the goals (SDG 17) we have identified three fields of entrepreneurial HEI strategies that are not sufficiently addressed by current strategies. These fields are: First developing and improving the internationalization of entrepreneurial strategies at HEIs, second promoting gender equality by supporting female entrepreneurs, third promoting diversity and reducing inequality through supporting international and refugee students in creating innovative entrepreneurial solutions. Improvements in these fields could allow it to develop more innovative ideas dealing with major challenges of our time. In this project three HEIs, the University of Cologne (UoC), the University of Granada (UGR) and the University of Pavia (UNIPV) will exchange their best practices regarding the development and implementation of international entrepreneurial university and supporting strategies for international, including refugees, and female students. Based on the results, we will develop a training program to support international and female startups. The aim is to support the early internationalization of startups, as well as to increase the number of international and female potential entrepreneurs founding startups with a sound, coherent program. In two train-the-trainer courses in Cologne and Granada, we will teach staff of different faculties of the partner universities how to implement the training course, in order to spread the knowledge throughout the university. The project will contribute to unfolding the whole creative potential of the European common market to contribute to global change.<< Objectives >>Our project has three objectives. First to improve the internationalization of entrepreneurial strategies at HEIs, second promoting gender equality by supporting female entrepreneurs, third promoting diversity and reducing inequality through supporting international and refugee students in creating innovative entrepreneurial solutions at innovation centers and incubators of HEIs.Developing Entrepreneurial University Strategies (EUS)Entrepreneurial University Strategies (EUS), including the foundation of startups and their internationalization, are often focusing on regional support and networking although innovative startups that are addressing transnational, European or international problems with their solutions, are depending on a transnational support infrastructure. Lowering the entry barriers to other European and international markets for startups at an early stage is therefore an important contribution for a smooth functioning of the European common market. Furthermore, many international students have transnational business ideas but have special problems developing these ideas in the country they are living. This is especially true for refugee students, who, despite good ideas, face special challenges, often also administrative one’s, in order to run a business. As stated by founders in the study of the European startup Monitor (2019/2020) conducted in 31 European countries, having close ties with universities allows startups to easily find well-trained human capital and to co- create innovative solutions.Supporting the increase of female entrepreneurs According to the European startup Monitor (2019/2020) the vast majority of startup founders in Europe are male. This is due to a large extent to the fact that women are facing higher barriers, such as difficulties in accessing finance and a long standing perception of discrimination (Rachdi 2006), in the process of founding a company. Therefore, in including female students in our target group, we follow the European startup Monitor’s (2019/2020) policy recommendation for prioritising the increase of female entrepreneurs. We believe that Entrepreneurial University Strategies could, therefore, lay more emphasis on supporting women in order to fully exploit the innovative potential of the economy and society in Europe. Supporting strategies for international studentsThe third object is to develop strategies on how to support especially international and refugee students to develop their business ideas. The aim is to promote diversity in the European startup ecosystems from which persons with migration background as well as the European market could benefit. So far, many incubators focus on a local approach, they build up networks to local businesses in order to support startups. However, there do exist many international students with international networks and business ideas. Only at the UoC there are around 5.000 international students matriculated in the summer semester 2021. International students could build up important transnational startups, connecting the European internal market closer to each other. However, foreign students do often hesitate to run a startup in the host country, because administrative, cultural and language barriers are higher. The project identifies the special obstacles that international students have when they want to build up a business idea. Similarly, refugee students, who, despite good ideas, face many barriers, whether legal, social, educational and cultural when trying to enter the labor market. An accessible entrepreneurship for this group would surely facilitate the integration of refugees not only in the labor market but also in the host society (OECD 2019).<< Implementation >>We developed a set of different activities and outputs which influence each other and create a coherent set of measures. We will create four PRs, which are interconnected by content. PR-1 will collect best practices regarding the internationalization of incubators and the creation of international co-incubators. In interviews with (potential) international startups, we will define the special needs of “born global” startups with an international focus and test if current strategies are fulfilling these needs.In PR-2, we will focus on international, including refugees, students/scholars and analyse their special needs and backgrounds. We will develop a concept of how this target group can be addressed and consulted with their startup ideas. Very often, international students/scholars do also have startup ideas with an international focus, which creates a strong link to PR-1. This is why PR-2 will start a little bit later (see Gantt Chart) so we will be better able to link the needs of international entrepreneurs to the structure of international co-incubators (PR-1).PR-3, will analyze, parallel to PR-2, the special needs of female entrepreneurs. We will develop a concept on how innovation centers and incubators can better address women in their startup activities. The situation for women is often very different in different countries, depending also on cultural background. The international perspective of the project will allow us to take into consideration the different cultural backgrounds and develop an international female empowerment toolset and strategy. We will follow some promising startups as best practices throughout the three year project. PR-4 will finally summarize the findings of the previous PRs by developing, based on HEInnovate, coherent self-assessment tools for two Train the Trainer courses for supporting international, including refugee students, and for supporting female students entrepreneurial skills. The implementation of the Train the Trainer course for students will be inaugurated during the last year of the project through a pilot project at the UoC for its students from the target group. Finally, multiplier events will contribute to spreading the insights of the PRs to the local networks of all project partners. In addition, startups from other project partners are invited to the multiplier event, in order to connect to the local network and further develop their international/transnational business ideas.<< Results >>Our project will have four expected Results (Project Result = PR). PR-1: Handbook of International Joint Acceleration Programme (IJAP)According to a study conducted for the European startup Monitor (2019/2020) most startup founders plan to expand internationally. Specifically, 76% plan to expand within the EU and 37% outside of it (with 26% planning to expand both within as well as outside of the EU). While internationalisation is a goal for many startups, there are many obstacles which they need to overcome to make internationalisation possible, with “finding the right partners”, “lack of financial support” and “legislative/regulatory barriers” being the most widely highlighted (European startup Monitor 2019/2020).Therefore, we will exchange best practices and create a handbook (PR-1) on how to create an “International Joint Acceleration Programme” (IJAP), including local networks and stakeholders. We will define possibilities of synergies and cooperation between innovation centers and international offices at HEIs. Using examples of existing startups at all three HEIs, it will be illustrated how entrepreneurial and internationalization strategies can be combined and which infrastructure a network of HEIs has to deliver in order to support the creation of “born globals”. The handbook will therefore be a guideline and a role model for similar projects around Europe. Second, we will develop a handbook on how to consult international students, including refugee students, and scholars to launch startups whether in the host country and/or transnationally between their home and host country (PR-2). International students face additional cultural and language obstacles and tend therefore to be more reluctant to found a business. Consulting international students needs therefore a combination of intercultural and entrepreneurial knowledge.Third, female entrepreneurs are a further target group that are so far not sufficiently reached by entrepreneurial strategies. We will develop and implement strategies to support female entrepreneurship at HEIs and develop concepts for incubators on how to support women to develop business ideas and overcome special market barriers for female startups (PR-3). The international focus of our project will allow us to work out differences in female empowerment in different countries and consider them in training and teaching courses. We will cooperate with the HEInnovate facilitators group in order to integrate the handbook as best practices into the HEInnovate toolkit (https://heinnovate.eu/en/heinnovate-resources). Fourth, we will, based on the results of PR1-3, develop a concept and teaching materials for a Train the Trainer course to support international and female entrepreneurs (PR-4). Training materials will be in an online format, so they can be used also by other HEIs. Additionally, trainers will have the opportunity to obtain either one or two certificates we will offer upon participating in two five-days workshops in Cologne and Granada. The certificates are: “Supporting International Entrepreneurship” and “Supporting Female Entrepreneurship”. Furthermore, the UoC will start the implementation of this project result by launching a pilot project for international, including refugee, and female students. Trainers who have accomplished the Train the Trainer course will provide guidance and support to the students, according to their needs, through a combination of intercultural and entrepreneurial knowledge. Additionally, in three Multiplier events, we will disseminate the results of our activities to stakeholders, such as international and refugee organizations, female empowerment organizations, other incubators, as well as other associations and companies to build up sustainable, long-lasting cooperation.

The main intention of this project “Partnership for Distance Nuclear Education – removing social barriers Through new Technology” is to design, to build and to carry out distance experimental nuclear education and exercises complementary to the theoretical lectures in nuclear engineering. Experimental and hands-on experience is necessary to obtain the high quality and complete nuclear education but the access to research reactors is limited due to several reasons. The number of participants in the reactor hall or in the control room is usually limited due to security reasons. Also there may be problems to access the building by students with disabilities due to architectural barriers not considered in the original project of the structure and often with interventions of not immediate realization in authorized zone. Theoretical lectures are nowadays routinely carried out worldwide using various standard e-learning platforms without any problems but the remote nuclear education is particularly challenging in the experimental education, hands-on activities, and interactive exercises. To ensure this sense of experimental education and exercises, it is necessary to use an innovative approach and significantly involve modern technologies. It is not just about providing electronic lectures it is important to involve a student in an experiment to see all activities in real time, provide him with online measured data and give him space to influence the course of the experiment based on his evaluation.Four partners are involved in the PADINE-TT project - Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU), Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (STU), University of Warsaw (UW) and University of Pavia (UNIPV). CTU and STU as host universities will broadcast education for guest universities, UW and UNIPV, as receivers. CTU is responsible for experimental education, hands on activities and broadcasting from the VR-1 Reactor and its laboratories. STU is responsible for exercises, organization of calculation workshop with focus on reactor physics. The contributions of both guest universities are complementary. The UW is currently developing a nuclear program and gradually gaining experience. Their involvement in the development of distance education will ensure suitability for the beginning of the country. The UNIPV, on the other hand, has extensive experience in reactor operation and experimental training. All four partners even host or guest will participate in all stages of design, carrying out, and evaluation of pilot courses. The impact of PADINE-TT project will be observed not only on the side of education providing institutions, but also on the side of organizations expecting reliable nuclear education and training. The immediate impact of the project will be measured by bachelor or master degree students involved in the pilot courses for the partner universities. The qualitative indicators will be based on the evaluation of the feedback questionnaire completed by participants from host and guest universities, both students and lecturers. The long-term impact of the project solution lies in the gradual involvement of universities offering education in the field of nuclear engineering (at national, European and international level).

The expectations of the European market in relation to universities are expressed in qualified, competent and skilled graduates. Qualified employees should have a thorough education, knowledge, practice and experience in a particular field. They are required to solve unexpected tasks that involve intricate and unforeseen operations which require to use knowledge in practice. Graduates prepared for such situations will affect economic growth and prosperity of European market. According to Operational Programme Human Capital study, nearly 80% of employers reported problems with finding qualified workers in 2014. This correlates with results of surveys conducted by Career Office of Lodz University of Technology, which show that over 50% of mechatronics graduates feel unprepared for their professional work. Moreover the surveys show a high demand for practical exercises, which the university is unable to provide due to limited resources in both staff and equipment. In recent years mechatronics joined the list of demanded study programmes. It is a multidisciplinary science that includes a combination of electronics and engineering in fields such as mechanics, computer, telecommunications, and systems. Many students have problems with understanding issues connected to above mentioned disciplines due to the complexity, necessity of abstract thinking and the fact that those concepts are not fully tangible. Deficiencies in fundamentals prevent further development and exploration of more complicated problems. In their daily practice, academics frequently face lack of access to modern equipment and devices, which are currently in use on the market. There is no opportunity to disassemble available devices for the purposes of presenting the components and construction as well as clarifying related physical phenomena. Laboratory exercises must be carried out under supervision, hence students do not have the ability to self-configure the equipment, experience states of emergency or effects of misconfiguration which may lead to equipment damage. Moreover, there is no possibility to practice and catch up outside the laboratory schedule. The above mentioned factors manifest in deficiencies in fundamental knowledge and practice of graduates, which cause inability to properly react to the challenges at future workplace. Responding to above mentioned needs, we wanted to enrich study programmes of all partners by implementing an innovative method for teaching and learning mechatronics based on virtual reality (VR). By applying VR laboratory as a part of existing curriculum in the field of mechatronics, we achieved the main goal of this project, which was to improve the quality and efficiency of higher education as well as qualifications, competences and skills of graduates and increase their competitiveness in the labor market. The proposed project and its outputs involved three crucial target groups: students, academics and business. The project improved following hard competencies of mechatronics graduates: principles of machine structures; complex operation principles of advanced mechatronic systems; real life scenarios in the field of mechatronics; handling and avoiding states of emergency; controllers operating; calibration of physical quantities characterizing the work of mechatronic systems and their components. The universities and academic staff benefitted from: -access to simulations of state of the art equipment ,which rarely available or too expensive; -more accessible laboratories due to reduced need of supervision; -attractive teaching tool tailored to fit the curriculum; From the business perspective: -graduates with higher qualifications; -less training for new employees; -possibility to prepare the students for future work (i.e. by providing specific machinery specifications to be put in the VR application). The consortium consisted of four parties: Lodz University of Technology (the leader), University of Tartu, University of Pavia, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. The project was organized into two main parts, one related to mechatronics and one related to IT. The mechatronic section focused on topics such as creating simulation scenarios, selecting devices to be transferred into VR, describing device related phenomena, ensuring that the processes presented in the simulation are mathematically and physically accurate. The other section focused on IT related tasks such as creating 3D models for the simulation and creating the VR simulation itself. Both mechatronics and IT sections of the project engaged all partners who were responsible for creating user manuals and instructions.